"Cecil Hotel? He thought it an odd name for a man of such intellect — a scientist nonetheless— whose cool, austere gaze, partially glazed ensconced behind the plastic fenestra of the omnipresent biohazard suit parried the small gesticulations of the terrier-like guests, frenzied in their desires for invigorating steamrollers of fresh water."

Those tanks are for fire suppression, not drinking water or bathing water. The reason is, if there is a fire, the power is likely going out, so pumps won't run. Gravity still works, though, and that's the point.

"Those tanks are for fire suppression, not drinking water or bathing water. The reason is, if there is a fire, the power is likely going out, so pumps won't run. Gravity still works, though, and that's the point."

How could the guests experience a loss of water pressure if the were no connection to the taps they were using?

On the other hand the fitness minded may appreciate the no charge protein drinks?

I am pretty sure that science works differently for utilities, governments, politicians, advertising and marketing people, lawyers, and poets. For the rest of us I am pretty sure that eating decomposing human tissue is not healthy. (wait . . . I forgot about zombies!)

Eating decomposing flesh (carrion) while yucky in the extreme, poses no significant health risks--recall please that crows, vultures, bears, and many other mammals and birds eat carrion and do not die--in fact for some, it is the mainstay of their diet.

The same way that NASA scientists can assure you that the Russian meteorite impacts (and meteor trails seen over Cuba and America) were in no way related to the asteroid that arrived a couple of days later. One would assume that they might have been part of the origianl explosion that sent the particles out in space long ago. Or piece that fell off when affected by the Earth's gravitational field, but no. It was only a coincidence--100%. Right.

I love the taste and smell of putrescine and cadaverine in the morning. It's reassuring--I won't have to put up with the Democrat Left forever. And people have told me that they "could just drink me up." Here's their chance.

The water tanks on the roof being there for fire suppression only makes sense.And anyway, a floating body in the tank (or one of the tanks?) could not in any way affect the pressure, which depends only on the vertical distance between the water surface and the point of measurement for a given rate of flow.It's a New York reporter picking up a story from L.A. and making a mess of it, I think.

Speaking of eating human dead bodies, that reminds me of the Japanese soldiers on the by-passed by US Fleets Pacific islands who were were ordered by the Emperor's War Lords to never surrender while they slowly starved to death from no resupply.

When the war was over they said that they never feared guerillas or natives. The fear other Japanese soldiers.

A case can be made that the worse war crime in WWII was that starvation to death order given by Tojo to the Japaneses army that ended in 1,300,000 deaths from starvation and the disease that goes with it.

Now why does Obama want to see food growing and transportation done in the USA for 100+ years using carbon based oil fuels to end so he can pretend to to save the world from a trace gas plant food????

The newsclip shows a resident of the hotel stating that they have been advised to not use the water under any circumstances.

Water pressure issue if tanks are fire suppression only? I'm not a plumbing expert, but years ago I had to arrange to have back-flow preventers installed on our water systems for a large residential apartment complex. It had something to do with our hot water boiler system taking on makeup water, and if there was a certain kind of leak in the system, the treated boiler water could become mixed with the domestic water supply. So Paddy O's comment might make sense - might have become a secondary maintenance issue.

Those water tanks do contain water for consumption. An earlier comment posited that they were there because of the utility of gravity to provide water pressure. That happens to be true. But it's also a much more efficient system to provide consistent pressure to all the taps than to try to provide it from ground level on an on-demand basis.

So yeah, those people were drinking Soylent Green tea these past few months.

How is there "no biohazard threat"? Can anyone explain the science of the health department's assurance?

Bribery, I assume.

First of all, dying humans usually have their anal sphincter muscle open (Pogo and Inga can perhaps confirm?) so there's polution from fecal contamination, and secondly we're talking three weeks in LA, so January or not there has to have been considerable decomp.

The fire suppression explanation makes the most sense. In most circumstances a hotel would experience no benefit to maintaining a drinking water supply of its own with the responsibility to maintain standards such as disinfection levels (Cl) which typical fall to a municipal water provider.

The chlorination of public drinking supplies was originally met with resistance, as people were concerned about the health effects of the practice. The use of chlorine has greatly reduced the prevalence of waterborne disease as it is effective against almost all bacteria and viruses, as well as amoeba.

wikipedia. My guess is animals are sometimes drowned in reservoirs, but the water is still OK to drink. Plus, the amount of water going through might have been high enough for no buildup, essentially preserving the body.

I thought we just had a post from Ann from an actor about the importance of clean drinking water.

There is still no way that the body in the tank could have affected the water pressure at the taps.However, an article of clothing, or her handbag or whatever, may have partially clogged the water outlet on the tank, and that would of course have restricted the flow.

Not only do animals drown in reservoirs, but kids stick cats into fire hydrants, and watermains break, and sometimes they are not separated from sanitary sewers or storm drains like they are supposed to be. So they throw another bag of chloride in before they put the line back in service.

Has anyone confirmed that they were potable water containment tanks and not pressure tanks? I can't find anything to clarify in the reports. Sounds like being grisly just because and not asking the right questions. Like when kids believe that muni water towers "store" water. Well, they do, but...oh never mind

My understanding is that water is pumped to the tanks on the roof, and the building is supplied from them; that lets gravity supply pressure from tank to rooms, and the pump only has to keep the tank topped-off.